


Billy 'Blue Jeans' Hargove

by Spooky_sprinkles



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove Is Bad at Feelings, Billy Hargrove Tries to Be a Better Person, Friendship/Love, Harringrove, One Shot, Soft Billy Hargrove
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22641661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spooky_sprinkles/pseuds/Spooky_sprinkles
Summary: Series of one shots Billy orientated. Featuring some brother/sister bonding, some crack head scenarios, maybe some harringrove
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington
Comments: 18
Kudos: 40





	1. Billy sneaks the party into the cinema

“Billy, please?!” Max whined from the doorway for the fifth time that hour. 

Billy groaned into the pillow he had firmly planted over his face, willing it to suffocate him so he wouldn’t have to listen to her any longer. She’d been relentlessly asking him to sneak her and her group of misfits into the drive thru cinema from the moment he stepped foot out of his bedroom that morning, and she wasn’t taking no for an answer. He’d tried his best to ignore her as much as possible, distracting himself with the list of chores that Neil had left behind for them as well as blasting his radio as loud as possible while he lifted some of his weights. But she was persistent, lingering behind him wherever he went. He couldn’t so much as take a piss in peace without Max knocking at the door and pestering him for a response. It was only midday and he was already exhausted, mentally and physically, he didn’t even have the energy to reject her anymore.

Max leaned against the doorframe, keeping up her puppy dog eyes and pout despite the fact that Billy couldn’t see her, “I won’t ask you to drive me anywhere for a week I promise, just please, please, please bring us.”

Billy slowly clawed the pillow from his face and flung it to the bottom of his bed, biting on the edges of his tongue as he swung his legs over the side and looked up at her through his eyelashes. “Max. Shut. Up.” 

She ignored the annoyance that was radiating off him in waves and inched closer, her hands clasped together in front of her as she continued to beg him, “Two weeks. I’ll even skate to school. Billy please.”

Billy rubbed at his temples as he rested his elbows on his knees, “Why don’t you ask Mother hen to bring you, hmm?”

“Steve won’t bring us.” Max let her arms fall to her sides as she looked at him pitifully, “He said it’s too scary for us. Please Billy?”

Billy sighed again, this time with more force, he was getting sick and tired of hearing that word over and over again. With a migraine slowly starting to set in and Max’s figure hovering over him 24/7 he realised she wasn’t going to give in and let out an almost inaudible ‘fine’. Max squealed, adding to the pressure building in Billy’s thumping skull as she thanked him and darted back off towards her room, slamming the door behind her as she informed the others she’d secured their babysitter for the night. With another sigh, Billy pulled a cigarette from his pack on the nightstand and took a well deserved smoke break in blissful silence as he prepared himself for the upcoming hours.

\--------------------------

Billy had regretted his decision not even 10 minutes after the band of 5 piled themselves into the backseat of his car, not very discreetly covering themselves with a dark blanket that Max had pulled out of the laundry room before they left. He will admit, it was a good idea, the other four just weren’t executing it very well. Max remained in the passenger seat for the majority of the drive, only diving into the cover of the backseat when the makeshift street sign stating ‘NEXT LEFT FOR DRIVE THRU CINEMA’ appeared in front of them. The stereo in the Camaro was kept at a regular volume, not Billy regular but normal driver regular, mainly so that Billy could try and listen in on the conversation that was occuring in the seats behind him.

“Nah, Dustin said he had a way in, so he’s gonna meet us in there.” He heard Lucas state, a little louder than a whisper.

“How the hell is he gonna get in? It’s 18+.” Mike snapped in response.

“Alright kids,” Billy shouted over his shoulder as he slowed towards the cinema’s toll booth, “Shut it back there.”

The car fell silent within milliseconds, leaving the radio to fill the awkward silence that was created, all of the kids holding their breath in anticipation. Billy rolled his window down and flashed a charming smile at the girl behind the kiosk as he requested a ticket.

“Sure thing!” She flashed a smile back in response, a small blush creeping across her cheeks. “You out here by yourself?”

“Uh, yeah,” Billy held a cigarette between his teeth as he dug into his back pocket for his lighter, “Maybe if you get off on time you could join me?”

“Don’t think so, loverboy, movies like this give me the creeps.” She bent across the kiosk desk and held the badly printed ticket out to him, “On the house. Enjoy.”

“Well, if you change your mind you know where to find me.” Billy took the ticket as he shot her a quick wink and put the car in gear to drive on.

The group that was huddled and possibly suffocating in his backseat remained perfectly quiet and still until Billy had parked and turned off the engine, giving them a low ‘coasts clear’ before lighting his cigarette. Max bounced straight back into the passenger seat beside him again, leaving the remaining four in the backseat to fight over the clearest view. Billy peered at the already faded lettering on the ticket before passing it over to Max, Children of the Corn? Jesus, they couldn’t have at least picked something more interesting? The surrounding parking spaces were still empty and a bit of light lingered in the sky, so he knew they still had a while to go before the movie started. For the time being he was trying to focus on his cigarette and remaining tuned out from the group surrounding him, that was until a bratty voice called to him directly.

“Hey, haven’t you ever heard of passive smoking?”

Billy ground his teeth, but before could even turn around Max had already wedged herself halfway into the backseat, “Shut up Mike, if it weren’t for Billy we wouldn’t be seeing this stupid movie anyway.”

He heard rustling from behind him before Max plopped herself comfortably back in the passenger seat and started to rip open a bar of chocolate. He eyed her for a bit, knowing damn well they didn’t have chocolate at home and they hadn’t stopped at any shops on the way here. It wasn’t until he glanced in his rearview mirror that he witnessed both Lucas and Mike emptying mixtures of sweets and chocolate alike out of their bags and into the limited space between them.

“I swear to god,” Billy started with a sharp exhale, “if I find one crumb back there when you leave you’re dead.”

“We won’t.” Will stuttered, “Promise.”

Billy continued to stare at them through the rearview mirror as they divided out their bounty among them, setting some aside for Dustin when he decided to show up. In all honesty, he had no idea where Dustin was meant to sit if he did make it in. The four of them in the back where a tight enough squeeze as it was and adding one more to the mix wasn’t going to make things any better. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Max studying the badly printed ticket before smiling fondly and folding it to shove it into one of her pockets. Billy felt a small tug within him, with that one smile she looked happier than he’d seen her over the past couple of months, part of him had wanted to ask, wanted to know what was going on and if she was doing okay. But she’d warned him to stay away, she barely spoke to him unless Neil and Susan were around, probably to make things look as normal as possible. When it was just the two of them she barely said a word, Billy had tried to drag at least one sentence out of her but she would either ignore him or give him one word answers. He supposed it made a change from him doing it to her all the time. For now, at least she was happy, and Billy would be happy as soon as he’d gotten the night over and done with. Gradually the sun was setting, and as Billy finished his cigarette to throw it out of his window and onto the gravel below, two small hands planted themself onto the door.

“Hi guys!” Dustin stuck his head in the window, half giving Billy a heart attack as he coughed on the final draw that he’d taken.

“Jesus!” He croaked out, “What’s wrong with you kid?!”

“No, what’s wrong with you?!” Another figure appeared behind Dustin, pushing him out of the way to pop his head down to the window.

Steve Harrington. Billy felt a sigh escape him before his brain could prevent it, of course he would show up at some point, wherever these kids went Steve was never far behind. Steve had looked like he jumped out of bed about 5 minutes prior, he was sporting a thick pair of sweatpants, a plain dark jumper and pieces of his hair were sticking out all over - which definitely wasn’t like Steve in the slightest. He wasn’t called Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington for nothing. Steve’s brow was furrowed and his eyes seemed to burn holes straight into Billy’s face.

“Taking the kids to see a horror movie? Do you want to give them nightmares?!” Steve’s grip was tight against the door as he tried to stare some sense into him.

“C’mon Steve, we’ve seen worse…” Dustin whispered from beside him before getting shushed aggressively.

Billy chose to ignore Dustin’s statement even though he was probably right, they were all teenagers now and although they weren’t the most popular of kids they must have still witnessed some weird shit from their classmates. “Well,” Billy started as he tossed his cigarette butt down beside Steve’s feet, “their mother wouldn’t bring them so someone had to.”

“None of their mother’s would bring them, they would flip out if they knew they were here!” Steve waved a hand in the air as if to further his point.

“No, no, no,” Dustin butted in pulling on Steve’s shoulder, “he means you. You’re the mother.”

“Me?” Steve stared dumbly at Dustin for a moment before the comment sunk in and he turned back to face Billy with a pointed finger, “This isn’t a joke, Hargrove. Their parents will freak out if they find out about this! What do you think your mom and dad are gonna say, huh?”

“They won’t find out.” Billy shrugged and attempted to remain monotone. He’d wanted to correct Steve, to say ‘Neil and Susan’ or ‘they’re not my parents’, he wanted to lash out about it because it was still a touchy subject. Even if they did find out, they weren’t in town and wouldn’t be for at least a week, so they couldn’t do much about it until then. But Billy was firmly aware of Max’s presence beside him and didn’t want to snap back at Steve, not in front of Max, he didn’t want to break his promise of leaving Steve and the others alone - to an extent.

Steve rested an elbow on the open window and rested his head in one of his hands before whining, “You don’t know that.”

“Oh, Harrington, will you relax!” Billy growled out, “It’s just a fucking movie. Not a strip club. I’m sure they can handle it.”

An awkward silence filled the air as Billy stared into the top of Steve’s skull, both of them seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Dustin had poked at Steve’s side a couple of times, trying to get him out of the way so he could ask permission before getting into Billy’s car. There were a couple of whispers quickly followed by hushes behind them, the other kids clearly just wanted to watch the movie in peace without any bickering. Steve’s head rose and his eyes searched over Billy’s face before he tutted and tugged at the door handle.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Harrington?” The surprise had taken Billy off guard, he wasn’t sure how he was meant to react to the situation, was Steve offering him a fight or a conversation? In the back of Billy’s head he tried his hardest to suppress the twang of anger that it had caused, he didn’t like the idea of many people touching his car - let alone Steve. His Camaro was his baby, the only constant thing in his life that he felt he had control over, so only a chosen few were allowed any contact with it.

“Let Dustin in your car, we can sit in mine.” He shrugged half heartedly at him as he swung the door open at stood to the side.

“Fuck off.” Billy laughed back at him in shock, he wasn’t serious, was he?

\----------------------------------

The kids and Steve all ganged up on Billy, taking them just under 10 minutes to persuade Billy to get out of his car. They insisted it would give them more space and ‘privacy’ to enjoy the movie instead of separating into two cars, although Billy wasn’t sure why they’d need privacy in the first place. Dustin also insisted that they could still be supervised as Steve had parked just a couple of spaces away, so Billy would still be in the close proximity. After negotiating for some time Billy only had two requirements before he agreed, that Max remained in the driver’s seat until he got back and that his car keys would stay with him at all times. He only had a certain level of trust with Max, he knew she would attempt to drive the car off with or without pressure from the others, she’d attempted it before, and he didn’t want a repeat of last time.

That’s how he’d ended up in his current situation, three spaces away from his most valued possession, forced to watch in silence as the people inside chucked food at each other and swapped seats throughout the movie. That’s how he had ended up in Steve Harrington’s beemer for nearly 3 hours in complete silence with only a bad quality movie to keep him entertained. Billy’s hands had started to twitch during the first hour of the film, he knew he needed a smoke but the awkward tension meant he didn’t want to ask for permission, especially from Steve Harrington, and he also didn’t want to bother the few surrounding audience members by stepping out of the car for a bit. He didn’t want to do anything that would draw attention to his current situation, he wouldn’t hear the end of it if people at school knew he’d spent his Saturday night at a drive thru movie with Steve Harrington.

“This isn’t actually as bad as I thought, you know.” Steve hummed as he munched on a handful of popcorn which he’d pulled out at some stage.

Billy was sure that Steve had offered him some at some point, but he’d declined the offer, he was trying his best to block him out. He hadn’t so much as thought about Steve since he’d beaten him up at the Byers’ house. He didn’t want to think about it. Billy knew that what he’d done was truly awful, the extent he went to was uncalled for and he was out of control. He could have killed Steve that night if it wasn’t for Max stepping in. Steve was still nursing some fading bruises around his eyes and a few cuts were still healing on his face, but Billy didn’t know what kind of PTSD he could have been nursing from it. Billy had been in his position many times before, he’d thought that if it was someone else he wouldn’t feel anything about it, just like Neil. But that wasn’t the case, Billy felt guilty and angry, he wished he could apologise but it wasn’t in his nature, it wasn’t part of the image he’d created for himself when he arrived in Hawkins, so he followed Max’s orders and stayed away. Billy had convinced himself he did it to protect Max, he’s just not sure what it was from.

“Billy?” Steve’s stern voice slapped Billy out of his thoughts and he turned with wide eyes to see Steve staring at him expectedly.

“What?” He spat out in response.

“Stop bouncing your leg, you’re shaking the whole damn car.”

Billy wasn’t even aware that he’d been doing it, it must have been a subconscious thing because it was one of the main things Neil would start giving off about during dinner. “I need a smoke.”

They stared at each other for another couple of seconds, Billy’s eyes pleading for the release of the pent up stress within him as Steve scanned him as if he was trying to decode the statement. Steve quickly nodded into the small box of popcorn before gesturing towards the window's ‘OPEN/CLOSE’ button on the passenger side door, “Knock yourself out.”

Billy muttered a quiet ‘thanks’ as he tried his best to multitask opening the window and lighting a cigarette at the same time, which was something he should have been used to, just not while in the passenger seat. Steve’s gaze remained fixed on the small, half empty box of popcorn in his hand that had suddenly seemed 10x more interesting than before either of them had spoken. The first draw had tasted like pure bliss to Billy, the warmth of the flame seemed to trickle the whole way into his lungs and veins as he closed his eyes and took a deep inhale. He held it for a couple of seconds, savouring the moment before exhaling and continuing to stare dumbly at the badly projected movie in front of them. Steve kept his eyes on the popcorn for some time Billy had noticed, he stole quick glances at him just to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep. 

“You called me Billy.” He said plainly as he continued to stare at the screen.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he took another handful of popcorn and stared at him out of the corner of his eye, “Yeah, and? It is your name, you know.”

“It was just,” Billy shrugged a little as he took another draw, “weird.”

It was weird. It sounded forgein coming from Steve’s mouth. They’ve both always called each other by their surnames ever since that first day on the basketball court. On occasion Billy would use his first name when he was talking to Max, or Tommy, or whoever else at school that had some story about him. But it was never to his face, and he could be sure that Steve had probably done the same. Steve just hummed in response, although it sounded more unsure and hesitant than normal. He continued to finish off the rest of the popcorn and plopped the small cardboard box into one of the cup holders between the two seats. Billy then proceeded to use it as an ashtray, it was slightly windy outside and every time he flicked the ash off his cigarette it would be blown back into the car. It would only be a matter of time before one of them got an eyeful of ash and were temporarily blinded so it seemed like the safer option.

Billy shifted in his seat, a sudden uncomfortable feeling washing it’s way over him. He wasn’t sure if it was because Steve kept glancing over at him or because he felt the urge to continue the conversation. All of the times they’d spoken to each other it had been very heated and resorted to arguments or cruel remarks, it was nothing light or normal, nothing friendly. And something in the back of Billy’s mind just wanted it to be friendly, just once. As a peace offering Billy held the cigarette out to Steve, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen to avoid any eye contact.

“Oh, thanks.” Steve hesitated before he took the cigarette from his hand, he seemed to do it as gently as possible, avoiding any contact with Billy’s fingers and nearly burning his own on the cherry of the cigarette.

Steve took a couple of quick draws before letting out a low cough, turning his face up at the taste of it, “Jesus, Hargrove, how do you smoke this shit?”

Billy laughed lightly as he shook his head, “Can’t afford the expensive ones, Daddy doesn’t make as much money as yours.”

Steve nearly tossed the cigarette back to him as he continued to cough, waving his hand over his face a few times to try and circulate more air into his lungs. Billy took the final draws and chucked it out of the window before rolling it back up again. Rubbing his hands together to get more heat into them he squinted at the dim screen in front of them.

“This shit nearly over?”

“I’d say about 20 more minutes.”

Billy let out a loud sigh in response, muttering about how he was too tired to concentrate on it anymore, but Steve didn’t reply. He remained fixated on the screen in front of them. Billy stared at him for a little bit, watching as his eyes lit up when the screen got that little bit brighter and how his mouth hung open slightly as he concentrated. He noticed how the bruises on his face changed colour slightly with the screen, turning from yellow to dark brown to a slightly bluer colour. Maybe it was just the atmosphere, or the overwhelming guilt that had started to creep up on him, but Billy felt his mouth move before his brain could stop him.

“I’m sorry.”

Steve looked over at him, mouth still slightly ajar and confusion plastered all over his face, “What?”

Billy’s eyebrows rose as he processed the situation and let out an awkward laugh as he shifted positions in his seat. Apologies definitely didn’t come easy for him unless he was able to just lay it all out at once, apologising mid conversation always made him feel uncomfortable and close off from it - usually resulting in him not apologising at all and just making things worse. So that’s what he proceeded to do, he was going into shut down mode and avoiding Steve for the duration of the movie, for the duration of his life if he had to.

“It’s okay…” Steve muttered out softly, his gaze had fallen down to his hands as he started to fumble and pick at his fingernails. 

Billy slowly turned his attention back to Steve who looked equally uncomfortable about it. He wasn’t sure what he was meant to say next; ‘sorry I beat you half to death’?, ‘It’s not okay, I could have killed you’?. He settled with a low hum instead, watching as Steve continued to fumble with his own hands.

“I kinda deserved it, you know. Made me think a bit.” He glanced over at him before looking away again, “I was dick before you came along and took my place. I just look at it as all those kids I ever picked on getting their payback on me… I’m sure some of them would have paid good money to watch it happen, Jonathan Byers being one of them.”

Billy chuckled a little, “Well, next time I’ll be sure to invite some of em round. Split the profits.”

They both stared at each other, sharing an unspoken understanding that it was okay. That they were okay. After a couple of seconds they laughed together about it, Steve shared his recovery story about how he needed stitches from the plate that got smashed into his skull, meanwhile Billy just winced. Part of it made him feel more guilty about it, because the aftermath definitely sounded worse than the beating itself, but Steve didn’t sound too bothered. He just acted like he was talking to one of his friends, not Billy Hargrove the lunatic from California that he avoided like the plague. It was this form of normality that Billy realised he was missing from his life, friendship. If only he’d have done things differently when he moved to Hawkins, maybe he and Steve would have been friends, maybe they wouldn’t have fought the peace out at any given moment, maybe, maybe, maybe... Billy knew he could never go back, but he could always go forward.

\-----------------------------------------

After the movie had ended Dustin sprinted over to the beemer and traded seats with Billy, quickly followed by Mike, Will and Lucas with the assumption that Steve would be bringing them home. Also because the Camaro was noisy and would wake everyone in the neighbourhood if he drove all over town to drop them off. El had decided to stay over with Max, Hopper could have always picked her up but she’d wanted to spend more ‘girl time’ with her. After a quick conversation both cars parted ways and headed in their own directions. El and Max brought a handful of leftover snacks with them and camped out on Max’s floor in a makeshift fort as they giggled away together, talking about god knows what. And Billy lay on his bed, finishing his last cigarette of the day, completely drained of all energy and with plans to hang out with Steve the following day.


	2. Max Slaps Billy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just your typical brother sister bonding, after a fond slap

Max didn’t even know what they were fighting over anymore, it seemed like Billy was just nit-picking for the sake of continuing the argument. He was bringing up little things that happened months ago, like when she left empty tins of coke and sweet wrappers in the living room after El stayed over and he had to clean it up before Neil and Susan got home. When it was finally silent and Max thought he’d finished with his tantrum he’d come back again, reminding her that he’s always ‘saving her ass’ and never getting a thank you for it. He kept lingering by her door for a bit as she was talking to El over the walkie, filling her in on the situation, before he disappeared for some time with the sound of clanging pots and pans in the background. Finally he stormed back in, complaining that El and her had used all of the cheese and hadn’t bothered to let him know so he could buy more. Although Billy should have known better, they usually eat the entire contents of the kitchen when she stays over so he should have done a quick grocery shop the day after. Max turned on her bed and continued talking into the walkie, acting oblivious to his presence.

“How am I meant to make a lasagna without cheese, Max?” He hollered at her.

She will admit it was kind of funny, but laughing at him at this moment in time wasn’t the best idea. Instead she shot him a look over her shoulder and gestured to the walkie, “I’m busy.”

As Max turned away from him again he stalked forward, taking Max by surprise when he snatched the walkie from her hands. She barely had time to react as he pulled open her window and tossed it outside onto the grass below. Billy knew there was a chance he could have broken it, if it had landed in a certain angle or on the antenna it could have rendered it useless. Luckily it didn’t, it landed flat on the grass and nothing came flying off it or exploded into pieces, so he slammed the window shut again and turned to find Max standing in front of him. 

“What the fuck, Billy?” She tried her best to push past him and open the window again, glancing down at the walkie lying peacefully on the grass below. 

“You’re always fucking about with your damn friends, Max. What about your chores, huh? What’s Neil gonna say when he sees you’re not pulling your weight around here?”

Max snapped her head around to him, her eyes narrowed and slightly teary, “Don’t threaten me with him.”

“It’s not a threat, Max,” Billy’s voice turned into a low growl rather than yelling as he’d been doing for what seemed like hours, “he also won’t be happy that you’re letting your friend use his house like a food bank. Or that you still hang around with that Sinclair kid.”

Billy just seemed to continue listing daily parts of Max’s life, things that she had to keep secret from Neil and Susan because she knew that they would flip out and she was terrified of Neil treating her like he does Billy. She wasn’t aware how many of her little secrets that Billy knew, like how sometimes she’d ditch class to spend time with Lucas in one of the bathrooms or the library, how El and Max were both considering how far they wanted to go in their relationships, how she’d stolen an old pack of cigarettes out of Billy’s car to try it, how she’d shoplifted from the corner store at the edge of town with her friends. Although it was things that most teenagers do, she knew how Neil would react, he would probably try and move her to a different school - even if it was outside of Hawkins - or he would homeschool her, cut her off from all of her friends. Neil hadn’t hit her before but she’d witnessed the aftermath of some awful beatings that he’d given to Billy and she didn’t want to be in that position. She was scared, her heart was thumping in her ears and her eyes were threatening to burst with tears as Billy continued speaking. She couldn’t even hear what he was saying anymore, it had all started to blur out as the fear mixed in with rage. Max always tried her best to never let Billy get her down, no matter what he said, but she’d had enough. Before she’d realised it she’d lifted her hand and smacked Billy across the side of his face, hard. Her hand stung and tingled with pain as she lowered it and stared at a silent Billy. 

Billy didn’t move or lash out at her like she’d expected him too, he remained frozen in place, his head slightly tilted from the impact and a red imprint slowly forming on his cheek. Max hadn’t hit Billy before, she promised herself she would never resort to violence with him, she didn’t want to cause him the same kind of pain that Neil did, no matter how much of an asshole Billy could be. He didn’t look at Max, didn’t speak a word to her as he turned around and walked out of her room, allowing her eye’s to release the flood that she’d been struggling to hold back. She flung herself down onto her bed and cuddled up beside her pillow as she cried into it. She felt awful, at this stage she felt like she was no better than Neil - even though the situation wasn’t as severe. Max could hear some thumping about from his room before his footsteps sounded off down the hallway, closely followed by the front door slamming shut and the Camaro speeding off down the neighbourhood. 

——————————

Max had cried herself to sleep and woke up a couple of hours later slightly dazed. She rubbed at her eyes as her memory started to return to her and she remembered the fight she’d had with Billy. Her heart dropped in her chest as her guilt came back, she still couldn’t process that she’d physically hit him. Of course she’d threatened him with a nailed baseball bat, but she never had any intention of actually using it on him. With a low groan she pulled herself from her bed and tip toed over to her now closed bedroom door, an indication that Billy had come back at some point while she was asleep. On the set of drawers beside her door sat her walkie, unharmed but slightly damp and dirty from the grass outside. When she clicked her door open she noticed a pizza box and tin of coke resting on the floor in front of it, it had more than likely went cold within the space of time that it had been left sitting there as the floor under it was ice cold but that didn’t matter. Max felt her stomach give a low rumble at the sight like she hadn’t even realised how hungry she was until she saw it. She still felt bad and judging by the situation Billy wouldn’t have gotten himself anything to eat, he never did after any arguments or after Neil had finished with him, so she tiptoed down the hallway to heat up the pizza and placed the tin of coke into the fridge before returning and knocking gently on his bedroom door.

“Billy?” She stuttered out. There was no response. “Can I come in?”

After receiving the silent treatment a second time Max decided to barge on in, pushing down the handle of the door with her elbow as she balanced the pizza box in her hands. Billy’s room was dark, it usually was but it was darker than normal, he had his curtains drawn and all main lights turned off except his small bedside lamp. Billy was resting on his bed with his head against the wall, lost in his thoughts as he stared back into the darkness of his room and took quick draws from a freshly lit cigarette. Max lingered in the doorway for a couple of seconds and waited for him to make the first move, waited for him to ask her what she wanted or to remind her that she wasn’t welcome in his room - but he remained silent. As she inched closer Billy lowered his head with every step she took until she was finally standing at his side and his head was lowered completely, his gaze fixed on the burning cigarette he fumbled between his fingers.

“Wanna share?” She asked quietly, her voice cracked a little halfway but both of them had chosen to ignore it.

Billy had started to shake his head no, but Max had already sat down and swatted his hands out of the way to rest the pizza box on his lap. He looked up at her as she concentrated on opening the box and separating the pizza evenly before she took a slice and got herself comfortable on the edge of his bed. 

“Should eat it before it gets cold again.” Max muttered as Billy staring at her had started to make her uncomfortable.

He held the cigarette in his mouth as he pushed himself up and moved his legs out of the way to give her more room, setting the box gently between them, “Max-”

“I’m sorry too.” She cut him off between a bite before looking at him with a mouthful and a soft smile.

Billy nodded lightly in response before stubbing out the cigarette and ripping off a slice for himself. They sat in silence for a bit, Max made herself comfortable by sitting cross legged on his bed meanwhile he remained pressed against the wall. It was slightly awkward, Billy hadn’t been playing any music - probably so he didn’t wake her - so they both had to listen to each other munching on pizza, but they didn’t mind. It was nice for things to feel calm between them for once, it was nice for them to just eat together and enjoy each other’s company. Usually when Neil and Susan left for a while Billy would just make something practical that they could have for dinner multiple nights in a row, like lasagna or some form of pasta bake, but they would never eat it together. Sometimes Billy would stand by the kitchen sink or he would disappear into his room with it, leaving Max to eat hers at the table or in the living room. It was never just the two of them. When Max had finished her side and started to wipe her greasy hands on her jeans Billy pushed his last slice towards her and reached for another cigarette.

“You sure?” She mumbled out as she finished chewing.

He just nodded in response and continued lighting his cigarette before looking at her out of the corner of his eye, “You want one, Max?”

She aggressively shook her head as she lunged for the final slice and spoke to him through bites, “They taste like shit.”

He stifled a chuckle as he flung his lighter back on the nightstand, “Yeah, they kinda do…”

“Then why do you do it?” She stared at him with curious eyes over the slice of pizza and waited patiently for a response.

Billy’s honest answer was that he wasn’t sure. It had started at school back in California, his group of friends would sneak out to the beach on their lunch breaks or between classes to grab a quick smoke and Billy had started to feel left out, so he decided to tag along one day. It became a regular thing then it wasn’t long until he started sneaking out of the house after arguments with Neil to smoke and calm himself down. As time progressed he started to lean on it more, it was his escape, something that allowed him to get away from his troubled home life even if it was only for a couple of minutes. Now that he was older and Neil tolerated him smoking in the house it didn’t mean as much, it didn't provide the same escape as it used to, but he continued anyway. Maybe it was because it reminded him of California, maybe it was because it was a part of his image now or maybe he just enjoyed it too damn much to stop. But Max did have a point, his usual go-to cigarettes had been Marlboro and after a couple of draws they started to taste earthy and dirty, he’d considered switching brands but the prices were higher in Hawkins than they were in California. Small towns had to make a profit somehow he assumed.

Billy shrugged and remained silent as he mulled it over while taking another couple of draws, “Can’t afford a decent pack.”

Max nodded a bit in understanding, Neil and Susan never gave them pocket money, they only left them money for groceries every so often when they went away and even at that it was barely enough some weeks. Despite them both having well-paying jobs there never seemed to be money left to spare, nothing left over for family time like a movie at the cinema or going out for dinner. When Max wanted to go to the arcade she would have to rummage under the sofa cushions and in jean pockets left in the laundry room, she only managed to find enough for a couple of goes on her favourite games and the money usually came from Billy’s pockets. It made her wonder sometimes if he did it on purpose as he’d never come looking for the money or ask about it, he’d even offered to give her money a couple of times when he dropped her off. 

Max hummed to herself before shifting slightly, “I think I have a pack of Camels hidden in my room if you want them…”

Billy squinted at her, “Where’d you get those?”

“I stole them from Steve’s car when I didn’t like yours…”

Billy chuckled lightly and shook his head, “Taste any better?”

She scrunched her nose up as she thought about it, “A little… but I still don’t like it.”

Billy took a sharp draw and exhaled it quickly before he answered, “Some people don’t take to it, kid. Better not doing it at all than faking it like most of the girls round here. Just a waste of a pack if you ask me.”

Max pushed herself off from the bed and headed to her room without a word, leaving Billy thinking he’d said something to offend her again judging by the tone in his voice when he called out to her. She quickly rummaged through the bottom of her wardrobe and pulled out an old shoe box that she hid her things in. She knew it wasn’t the best idea, if Neil or Susan where to check her room for any reason the first place they would look would be in old shoe boxes, but she didn’t have a better option. Back in their old home she had a wooden panel on the floor that had come loose, and instead of letting them know so that they could fix it she used it to hide her stuff in. It was never much, usually just her diary at the time and any letters or postcards that she’d received from friends, but it was less of a risk than a shoe box hidden at the back of her wardrobe. She pulled the nearly full pack of Camels from the box and quickly shoved it back in before making her way back to Billy’s room. He hadn’t moved much, just to refold the empty pizza box and sit on the edge of his bed, but he looked at her expectantly as she waltzed back into his room and chucked the packet at him. Billy fumbled to catch them before checking it over and setting them down beside his original pack on the nightstand.

“Just… don’t tell Steve, okay?” Max lowered her gaze a little, she was going to put the packet back the next time Steve gave her a lift somewhere, but she thought giving them to Billy as a peace offering would mean more. Besides, Steve could always buy more, and Billy probably couldn’t afford to get them himself.

“I’m not allowed to speak to him, remember?”

He smiled at her as he picked up the pizza box and held it out to her, a clear sign that he wasn’t thinking of leaving his bed anytime soon. With a sigh she took it from him and had turned to leave but found herself stopping at the doorway again. Moments like this with Billy were a rare occurrence and she never wanted to let them go when they did happen. She wished they could spend more time together, to grow closer like a proper brother and sister, but she was always afraid to push him too far.

“Billy?” Max turned again to find him staring at her, one of his elbows resting against his knee as he stubbed out his cigarette.

“Yeah?”

“Do you wanna watch a movie?” She gradually lowered her voice as the sentence came out, unsure and nervous as to how he would respond.

He was quiet for a bit as he stared into his ashtray and Max was just waiting for him to blow up, for him to tell her to piss off back to her room and leave him alone for a bit, instead he just looked at her judgingly and sighed, “As long as it isn’t Neverending Ghostbusters or some shit.”

Max let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in and dropped the tension in her shoulders as she started to laugh at him, “Okay, first of all, those are two completely different movies.”

“Those are two completely different movies.” Billy mocked her as he stood and made his way out towards the living room, quickly followed by Max. “We’re watching The Terminator.”


	3. Max had a nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max has a nightmare after they defeat the demodogs so Billy cuddles her to sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Pandaruler1897, I hope you like it!

_ The town was a wreck, vines had spread everywhere latching themselves onto trees, cars and people, pinning them to the ground and forcing them into early decay. Ash was floating everywhere and darkening the sky, swallowing the stars and crackling street lamps as it crushed down onto the town. Max could see her breath in front of her, the atmosphere was ice cold and had started to creep its way under her skin to give her goosebumps. Everything was so cold, it was unbearable and was making it harder for her to move, but she had to keep running. Behind her she could hear the distant shrieks and roars of the demodogs, their cries almost deafening as she tried to cover her ears and push herself forward. They were getting closer, it wouldn’t be long until they were on her heels and this time she was on her own. She had no back up, she’d gotten separated from the others when they got out of that disgusting tunnel system and she wished that even one of them was with her but she knew they didn’t make it. She knew because she heard them. She heard their piercing cries for help and their screams as the demodogs finally caught up to them and she did nothing. She just ignored it and kept running. Max was petrified, but some part of her had decided if she just made it home then maybe things would be okay, maybe they wouldn’t get her and she would be safe and maybe, just maybe someone would be there to protect her. But all the streets looked the same when it was dark, and the vines had started to eat away at the street signs, leaving her running blindly through alleyways and side streets hoping that she was going in the right direction.  _

_ When she finally saw the silhouette of her yellow bike lying abandoned on the porch her legs moved faster than they had before, she was almost there, she was almost safe. The demodogs weren’t far behind and had started to rush in from all angles, almost as if they had set up this trap specifically for her. She found herself screaming, calling out for her mother as the lights within her home started to flicker and the snapping of the demodogs skimmed her ankles. She tried to push herself harder, to run faster but she was overpowered, the demodogs swiped her feet out from under her and tackled her to the grass. Her voice was going hoarse but she continued to scream out, trying to claw her way through the muck towards her house, her arm outstretched towards the open doorway before one of the demodogs latched itself onto her ankle and trailed her back. The pain was excruciating, she could feel every tiny tooth that sunk its way into her skin and tugged at it harshly, causing her to let out a bloodcurdling scream. Her house was soon out of view, the demodogs had her surrounded and were closing in for the kill. Their horrid mouths growled and snarled at her, leaving puddles of gloopy saliva in their wake. She felt a clawed hand place itself on her shoulder and looked over to find one staring back, it’s mouth opening as it screamed and dribbled saliva over her face. Max found herself screaming back at it, yelling for it to go away, her fear making her sentences almost inaudible as she screamed as loud as she could. Hoping that someone, just anyone could help her before it was too late- _

Max sat bolt upright in her bed, she was struggling to breathe as every inhale caused her pain and broken sobs took priority over her lungs receiving oxygen. Slowly she started to fade out of her dream and bring herself back to reality. Her hands were trembling with fear as she gripped onto her duvet, her face drenched with tears as she clenched her eyes shut tight. It was an action she quickly regretted as the demodogs invaded her mind straight away, with every blink she was back in that position with them swarming around her and ready to rip her to pieces. She let out another broken sob and pulled her knees up to her chest, holding herself tightly as she cried into the now dampening duvet. 

It had been at least a week since the gate was closed but the nightmares still persisted, gradually they had been getting worse with every night unlocking a new part to the recurring nightmare. Max knew that it was ridiculous, they had won, the demodogs and the Mind Flayer had been defeated. El had come back just in time to save all of them and had assured them that the job was done properly. The others didn’t seem to be having the same issue as her, maybe it was because they had been through it before and had gotten over that stage, maybe she just had to wait it out and it would go away over time. 

Just weeks ago she was living a completely different life, blissfully unaware of the dangerous supernatural threat that lived under her very nose, now it was all that she could think about. Those horrible creatures and the noises that they made taking up any spare thought that they could. It made her jumpy, she’d even panicked when one of the bulbs blew in her house because she believed that must have been the upside down, it must have been something coming back to get her. She wanted to tell the others about how much she was struggling, how badly it was affecting her, but she didn’t want to appear weak in front of her new friends in fear they would leave her out of future adventures. So she resorted to keeping it to herself, living with a disrupted sleeping schedule and falling asleep for brief periods during the day which she brushed off by saying she was up late reading comics most nights.

“Max?” A groggy and quiet voice called out to her.

Max’s head whipped around as she followed the sound, her eyes struggling to adjust in the darkness as a figure stood hazily in her doorway. Her mind twisted the shadows around it, distorting its original shape and transforming it into something else altogether. She blinked the tears out of her eyes and attempted to refocus, the distortion waring off as she stared at a half asleep Billy in her doorway. He was staring at her through squinted eyes as he stumbled slightly to keep his balance and prop himself against the doorframe, clearly just awake. From what Max could make out he was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an old pull over from his school in California, he looked different from what he usually did, the baggy clothing making him look softer and less intimidating than normal. That's when Max realised she hadn’t paid much attention to him since that night, he’d kept his distance since then and wasn’t spending much time at home or following up on Max’s every move. 

Billy didn’t have any idea about what happened while he was unconscious in the Byers living room, he didn’t know that they could have all died that night, he didn’t know why Max was so invested in her friends and their well-being. Billy was lucky enough to not have that burden, he wouldn’t have to live his life plagued by what came out of those tunnels or the fear that they would return. He was unaware of everything and it made Max jealous because she wanted to forget about it, she wanted to move on with her life like everyone else. Yet here she was, overwhelmed with the knowledge and the burden of protecting everyone she loves from the truth.

“Max?” Billy repeated again, this time with more force. He’d rubbed at his eyes to the point that they started to hurt, the pain shooting behind his eyes finally dragged his groggy brain from its slumber and forced him to focus on Max. His hand snaked up and down the wall to his left, attempting to find the lightswitch but before his fingertips collided with the flat piece of plastic Max let out a small “Don’t”. She didn’t want him to see her in this state, not clearly anyway.

Her voice had sounded so low and scratchy, her gentle sobs gradually ceasing as they stared at each other in silence. Billy felt slightly uncomfortable, he didn’t have any experience in dealing with others in this situation - let alone the girl who threatened him with a nailed baseball bat after injecting him with a dodgy sedative - but there wasn’t anyone else home, the responsibility rested on him to make sure she was okay. He cleared his throat as he edged his way into her room and stood awkwardly at the side of her bed.

“You okay?” He whispered.

Those two words had set back all of Max’s hard work, she looked up at Billy as he said it and started crying again. The tears streamed down her face as she studied him, his brow was furrowed and his mouth was drawn into a straight line as he stared down at her expectedly. She reached a hand out to him, tugging on the front of his jumper as her shoulders started to shake due to the force of her sobs. Billy attempted to take a step back as Max turned on her knees to face him but her grip tightened around his jumper and prevented him from going any farther. 

“Billy…” She croaked out.

Billy realised something in that moment that hadn’t occurred to him before. Despite how she would act towards him, how defensive she would get of her friends, despite the shimmer in her eyes when she would glare at him - she was still just a little girl. Like himself she would put up a front to protect herself from others, to make herself look tough enough so that no one would try and walk over her like people had done in the past - like Billy had done in the past. And in this moment the front was gone, she was just Max, she was just his fourteen year old step-sister that was upset. Billy took a deep breath as he put his thoughts aside, temporarily locking away all of his previous resentment and anger towards her as he stood another step closer to her bed and allowed her to throw her arms around him. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck as she buried her face into his chest and cried, she gripped onto her arms until her knuckles turned white to prevent him from pulling away before she was ready. Billy stiffened for a moment before trying to force the tension out of his body in an attempt to comfort her. He put his arms around her and held her, allowing her to cry out whatever frustration she had pent up inside of her.

“Shh, Max it’s okay...” He whispered lowly as he slowly rubbed her back, “It was just a dream…”

“No…” She choked out before stopping herself, she was prepared to spill her guts to him and tell him everything, her urge to share the burden with someone - anyone that would listen was tugging at her conscious, but she knew that this was one secret she had to keep to herself. “It felt so real…”

Although still slightly stiff Billy did his best to comfort her, he pulled her tighter towards him as he hushed her and continued to rub at her back. It took time, but eventually Max’s grip started to slack and her sobs started to space out as she calmed herself down. He rested his head against hers as he stared blankly at her wall, he never pictured Max in this state before because he’d barely seen her cry, but now that he was faced with it he felt something unfamiliar to him. It wasn’t something he could place a name on, but he knew that he had felt it a long time ago, back when his mother was still with Neil, when he used to find her crying on the bathroom floor after they’d argued. He felt as though he wanted to stand between whatever was affecting Max this way, to scare it off and make it leave her alone so that she would be okay again. Even if that meant that they would go back to avoiding each other afterwards. Billy’s eyebrows creased as he slowly peeled himself back from her and made her sit down again. He caught her eye and could see the vulnerability that had been hidden so well behind them. Her face was red and soaked with tears, her eyes puffy and her lip trembling as she stared back at him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

She quickly shook her head and lowered her gaze, she knew that she couldn’t tell him, no matter how much she wanted to. It would put El in danger as well as everyone else, she couldn’t risk El being taken away or the government coming in to try and silence them all. And in her current mental state she couldn’t come up with a decent enough lie to tell him, she didn’t want him to believe she had a nightmare about clowns or something stupid that kids had nightmares over, but she also didn’t want him to believe she had a nightmare so severe that he would keep checking up on her. She knew that if he pushed her for long enough she would eventually give in and tell him, no matter how crazy she’d sound.

“Did I wake you?” She croaked out.

He nodded slowly as he looked her over, “Heard you screamin’…”

She slowly looked up at him and let out another low sob, “I’m sorry, Billy…”

He hushed her again as he hesitantly reached out to run a hand across her cheek, wiping away her tears and brushing away the hairs that had stuck to her face, “Don’t be.”

“Will you stay with me?” She asked quietly as he started to pull his hand away from her, “Just until I fall asleep again?”

Billy remained silent as he thought it over, before he hummed at her and glanced to the spare chair in the corner of her room. He’d taken a couple of steps in it’s direction before he felt a tug at his sleeve preventing him from moving forward, and as he looked over his shoulder he spotted Max’s hand clutching the fabric as she stared at him with wide eyes. She just shook her head at him, her throat so dry from crying that she couldn’t mutter a word. He nodded at her in understanding as he placed his hand over hers, slowly pulling her fingers from the fabric and making his way back to her bed.

He positioned himself mainly on the edge so that he could make an easy escape once she’d fallen back to sleep, the top of his back and his head rested against her headboard as he crossed his legs and patted the space beside him. Max pulled the blanket with her as she moved, covering herself in it like a cocoon before crawling into the empty space between Billy’s body and his arm. She cuddled up against his side and held onto his jumper with both of her hands. Billy watched her as she hid beside him, her face barely visible under the blanket and her shoulders still shaking every so often. With a sigh he wrapped his arm around her and held her close, rubbing small strokes on her side as he lent his head back and shut his eyes.

“Thank you, Billy…” She spoke softly into his side and was barely audible, receiving a mere hum in response, “You’re not so bad, you know...”

“Don’t ruin it.” He whispered back.

She gave his side a small pinch and received a low chuckle in response. They remained quiet for sometime and Billy had started to feel his eyes getting heavier with every breath he took. He was almost certain that he’d fallen asleep at some point, he wasn’t sure how long for but he knew it was about time he returned to his own room. After giving his eyes a quick rub he lifted the edge of the blanket with a finger tip and attempted to peek at Max’s face, relieved when he noticed that her eyes were shut and she appeared to be sleeping. As carefully as he could, he slid his arm away from her head and gently unhooked her fingers from his jumper before attempting to push himself out of her bed. Just as he’d sat upright and his feet were about to make contact with the floor Max’s arm latched itself onto his side, as if her subconscious could sense that he was leaving. He did a double take over his shoulder to make sure she was asleep, which she was, but her grip on him wasn’t for loosening and Billy came to terms with the fact that he would have to stay put. 

Part of his mind told him not to worry about it, that he could always say to Max in future ‘remember that time I stayed with you? Well you owe me one’ but he quickly pushed that thought away. Of course, it was something Billy usually did, but that was over little things. Like when he would cover for her by saying she was at AV club after school and that was why she was late getting home (even though he’d clearly seen her - closely followed by her nerds - leaving through the school’s back entrance when she was meant to be in AV club), or when she broke one of Susan’s vases while skateboarding indoors and he took the rap for it instead, insisting that he broke it when coming home drunk. It was a never ending cycle, he covered her back so she covered his. And this situation that they were in, the state that Max was in, Billy knew better than to use that against her. That wouldn't have been fair.

So he settled back against her headboard, pulling her closer and wrapping an arm around her before he shut his eyes and allowed himself to go back to sleep. If Max wanted to talk about it the following day he would, if she wanted him to just leave and never mention it again he would. He knew full well that he would wake up before her, so he would attempt his escape again then, but until then he just held her as close as possible and listened to her shallow breathing as he drifted back to sleep.


End file.
